GUIDE TO THE CONFLICT ZONE This publication is the result of work of a group of authors of various competencies: investigative journalism, politology, geography, and history. Written as a kind of vade mecum, this guidebook will familiarize the reader with the precursors, problems, terminology, and characteristics of the war in the Donbas. The book is targeted at experts, journalists, and representatives of international missions working in Ukraine. It will also interest a wide range of readers trying to understand and develop their own opinion on the situation in the east of Ukraine. The electronic version of this publication can be downloaded from https://prometheus.ngo/donbas-v-ogni Donbas In Flames УДК 908(477.61/.62-074)”2014/…”(036=111) Guide to the conflict zone ББК 26.89(4Укр55) Lviv, 2017 Д67 Editor: Alina Maiorova Authors: Mykola Balaban, Olga Volyanyuk, Christina Dobrovolska, Bohdan Balaban, Maksym Maiorov English translation: Artem Velychko, Christina Dobrovolska, Svitlana Kemblowski, Anna Shargorodskaya, Andrii Gryganskyi, Max Alginin Design: Lukyan Turetsky Activity supported by the Security Environment Canada Fund for Local Initiatives Research Center © 2017 “Prometheus” NGO Activité réalisée avec l’appui du Fonds canadien d'initiatives locales Content Foreword. When the truth is the best weapon 5 Chapter 1. Donbas - The panoramic picture 7 Donbas on the Map of Ukraine 7 As Seen by Analysts and Journalists 10 Donbas (Un)Known to the World 14 Chapter 2. Could the War be Avoided? 17 Ukrainian land 17 Rust Belt 20 Similar and different 22 Voting Rights 25 Unsolicited patronage 26 Chapter 3. Chronicles of War 31 End of February 2014 31 March 2014 32 April 2014 33 May 2014 36 June 2014 38 July 2014 39 August 2014 41 Beginning of September 2014 42 September 2014 - February 2015 42 From February 2015 to this day 44 Chapter 4. Life during wartime 45 Losses and dangers 45 ATO zone 46 Hybrid charity 48 GUIDE TO THE CONFLICT ZONE 3 Internally displaced persons 49 Transportation in the ATO zone 51 Chapter 5. In the Focus of Mass Media 53 Shock 53 Pushback 55 Stabilization 56 Inattention 57 Widespread talking points of Russian propaganda 58 Chapter 6. Russian Presence 65 Using the Internet to research the aggression 65 The mechanics of the aggression 67 Russian weaponry in the Donbas 73 Afterword 83 Appendixes 84 Toponyms changed in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts in the process of decommunization 84 War lexicon 91 Acknowledgements of the Russian aggression by international institutions 92 4 Foreword. When the Truth Is the Best Weapon In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected the term “post-truth” as its international word of the year. Objective facts have been losing their key role in politics and decision-making, causing an overwhelming proliferation of fake news and public opinion manipulation. Western countries have only now realized how vulnerable they are to post-truth, but Ukraine first started feeling it in the spring of 2014, when, after the victory of the Euromaidan Revolution, the Kremlin launched its massive propaganda campaign. Seeking to undermine Ukrainian statehood, both on the domestic (Ukrainian) and international level, Russian agitprop has been targeting every potential audience, from housewives to key decision makers. After three years of war, against all odds, Ukrainian society has learned how to confront Russia’s propaganda aggression through numerous initiatives aimed against the policy of post-truth. We believe that Ukraine’s first-hand experience can be useful to other countries and communities that are just becoming aware of the new threats and challenges. Ukraine has been countering Russian hybrid aggression in the Donbas and Crimea for three years. Our research aims to offer an introductory lecture for journalists, analysts, diplomats and experts trying to comprehend the situation in the East of Ukraine, the region’s geographic and sociopolitical features, external and internal causes and stages of the war. We also want to steer you away from the models, stereotypes, and simplifications that often appear in the media. It is especially important for us to illustrate to our readers the hybrid nature of the military and propaganda aggression by the Kremlin, and outline the ways to counter it. We would like to thank the InformNapalm volunteer community for providing source material for this research. We are also deeply grateful to the experts and journalists, who helped us with valuable ideas and advice during our work. GUIDE TO THE CONFLICT ZONE 5 Chuhuiv Kupiansk hKharkiv, K Bilokurakyne yiv Balakliia Svatove Milove Starobilsk Bilovodsk Р07 Izium Sviatohirsk Aidar Rubizhne Novoaidar Lyman / Krasnyi Lyman Р22 Sievierodonetsk Barvinkove Siversk Lysychansk S Sloviansk iv er Hirske skyi Donets Shchastia Stanytsia Luhanska Karachun Zolote R Kramatorsk U Popasna LUHANSK Druzhkivka S Kadiivka / Stakhanov S Bakhmut / Artemivsk Brianka I Alchevsk A Kostiantynivka Svitlodarsk Molodohvardiisk Sukhodilsk Perevalsk Dobropillia Lutuhyne Izvaryne М04 Horlivka Debaltseve Novhorodske Sorokyne / Krasnodon hDnipro Myrnohrad Vuhlehirsk Khrustalnyi Н21 / Dnipropetrovsk Dovzhansk Voznesenivka / Dymytrov Hrabove/ Krasnyi Luch Pokrovsk Yenakiieve / Sverdlovsk / Chervonopartyzansk / Krasnoarmiisk Karlivka Yasynuvata Shakhtarsk Antratsyt Rovenky Gukovo Avdiivka Makiivka Miusynsk Snizhne Chystiakove Diakove М03 Hirnyk DONETSK Savur-Mohyla Krasnohorivka Ilovaisk / Torez Stepanivka Zelenopillya Kurakhove Marinka Marynivka Mospyne Amvrosiivka Vuhledar Kalmius Novoshakhtynsk Dokuchaivsk Kvashine Novotroitske Starobesheve Н20 Kalmiuske / Komsomolske Volnovakha Matveyev Kurgan Boikivske / Telmanove ROSTOV-NA-DONU Дон Sartana Taganrog Novoazovsk М14 Shyrokyne Areas of militant activity in 2014 Mariupol O V Territories liberated by the ATO forces in 2014 A Z hCrimea, Odesa O F A Occupied territories as of mid-2015 S E Contact line 6 Chapter 1. Donbas - the Panoramic Picture Donbas on the Map of Ukraine Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts are located in the east of Ukraine. They have many common features and are often joined under the name “Donbas”. The word “Donbas” is an abbreviation of two words: “Donetsky Bassein” (“Donets coal basin”). This term was first introduced in the 1820s by Yevgraf Kovalevskyi, a mining engineer, to mark the coal deposits in the basin of the Siverskyi Donets river. The Donets coal basin is of a considerable length – over 500 kilometers from the Dnipro to the Don. The total area of the geological Donbas is approximately 60 thousand square kilometers, which is 13 times the area of the Ruhr coal basin. It spreads over parts of the current Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk Oblasts of Ukraine, as well as a part of Rostov Oblast of Russia. The heavy industry of the Donbas was the factor that determined the region’s administrative boundaries. Donetsk Governorate established in 1920 combined most of the industrial cities of the region. For the purposes of improving food provision to the workers of the Donbas, the territories of Pryazovia (the Sea of Azov area) and Slobozhanshchyna (Sloboda Ukraine), which were then mostly agrarian, were included in Donetsk Governorate. Lengthy reorganizations in the territories belonging to Donetsk Governorate eventually resulted in the appearance of the current Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Industrial complexes of the coal basin are the core of these regions. Even the names of some cities speak about the mining industry: Shakhtarsk (City of Miners), Antratsyt (Anthracite), Vuglegirsk (Coal Mountain), Vugledar (Gift of Coal), Girnyk (Miner). For that reason, “Donbas” is used as a synonym for Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts combined. However, many find this generalization objectionable. First, the borders of the oblasts do not match the borders of the coal basin. Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast and Starobilsk in Luhansk Oblast do not belong to the Donbas, while Pavlograd in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Shakhty in Rostov Oblast do. Second, in view of the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine, many Ukrainians speak against assigning any political meaning to the term “Donbas”. Despite these considerations, we proceed from the GUIDE TO THE CONFLICT ZONE 7 Donbas In Flames Варшава established tradition and the practical convenience of calling the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts the Donbas. At the same time, we recognize the logic of alternative approaches. Б І Л О Р У С Ь The east of Ukraine is mostly flat steppe country crisscrossed with river ravines, the largest being the Siverskyi Donets. In Luhansk Oblast, the Donets became the separation line between the troops of the Чернігів Anti-Terrorist Operation and the militants. Another feature of the terrain in the region is the Donets Ridge – a series of hills rising up to 200-300 meters above sea level. The strategic height Savur-Mohyla also belongs to the Donets Ridge. The typical landscapes in the industrial areas include spoil banks. А Луцьк Щ Рівне DonetsСуми coal basin Ь Л О Житомир Old Donbas П Львів Київ Kharkiv Larger Donbas Тернопіль Poltava Черкаси Starobilsk Вінниця Izium Хмельницький R Lozova Sloviansk U S Luhansk S I A Ужгород Івано-Франківськ Kramatorsk N Kadiivka F Pavlohrad E Antratsyt D Dnipro Horlivka E Кропивницький R Чернівці A T Donetsk Shakhty I Zaporizhia O N Р У Rostov-na-Donu М У Н І Я Taganrog Mariupol Миколаїв Melitopol Berdiansk Кишинів Одеса Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts share a border with the Russian Federation. The land border between Херсон these oblasts and Russia is 923.24 kilometers long, out of which